5.1 Personnel that are responsible for the transfer of NDE data between systems will use this standard. This practice will define a set of NDE information object definitions that along with the DICOM standard will provide a standard means to organize image data. Once conformance statements have been generated, the NDE image data may be displayed on any imaging/analysis device that conforms to the standard. This process of developing conformance statements with both the NDE specific object definitions and the DICOM accepted definitions, will provide a means to automatically and transparently communicate between compliant equipment without loss of information.

Note 1: Knowledge and understanding of the existing DICOM standard will be required to generate conformance statements and thereby facilitate the data transfer.

1.1 This practice facilitates the interoperability of NDE imaging and data acquisition equipment by specifying the image data in commonly accepted terms. This practice represents a harmonization of NDE imaging systems, or modalities, with the NEMA Standards Publication titled Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM, see http://medical.nema.org), an international standard for image data acquisition, review, storage and archival. In addition, this practice will provide a standard set of industrial NDE specific information object definitions, which travel beyond the scope of standard DICOM modalities. The goal of this practice is to provide a standard by which NDE image/signal data may be displayed on by any system conforming to the ASTM DICONDE format, regardless of which NDE modality was used to acquire the data.

1.2 This practice has been developed to overcome the issues that arise when archiving or analyzing the data from a variety of NDE techniques, each using proprietary data acquisition systems. As data acquisition modalities evolve, data acquired in the past must remain decipherable. This practice proposes an image data file format in such a way that all the technique parameters, along with the image file, are preserved, regardless of changes in NDE technology. This practice will also permit the viewing of a variety of image types (CT, CR, Ultrasonic, Infrared and Eddy Current) on a single workstation, maintaining all of the pertinent technique parameters along with the image file. This practice addresses the exchange of digital information between NDE imaging equipment.

1.3 This practice does not specify:

1.3.1 A complete description of all the information necessary to implement the DICONDE standard for an imaging modality. This document must be used in conjunction with one of the method-specific DICONDE Standard Practice documents to completely describe all the requirements necessary to implement the DICONDE standard for an imaging modality. See Section 2.1 of this document for a current list of the method-specific standard practice documents.

1.3.2 A testing or validation procedure to assess an implementation's conformance to the standard.

1.3.3 The implementation details of any features of the standard on a device claiming conformance.

1.3.4 The overall set of features and functions to be expected from a system implemented by integrating a group of devices each claiming DICONDE or DICOM conformance.

1.4 Although this practice contains no values that require units, it does describe methods to store and communicate data that do require units to be properly interpreted. The SI units required by this practice are to be regarded as standard. No other units of measurement are included in this standard.

1.5 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.